''British Cavalier'' was a tanker that was built in 1942 for the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

(MoWT) as ''Empire Cavalier''. In 1945, she was sold to the British Tanker Co Ltd and renamed ''British Cavalier'', serving until 1959 when she was scrapped.

Description

The ship was built by Sir J Laing & Sons Ltd,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. She was launched on 27 August 1942 and completed in November. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . She had a GRT of 9,891 and a NRT of 5,912. She was propelled by a 4-stroke Single Cycle Single Action

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

which had eight cylinders diameter by stroke. The engine was built by Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

History

''Empire Castle'' was built for the MoWT. She was placed under the management of Mungo Campbell & Co Ltd. She was allocated the United Kingdom

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

169033. The

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

BFCF were allocated and her port of registry was Sunderland. ''Empire Cavalier'' was a member of a number of

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. ;ON 166

Convoy ON 166 Convoy ON 166 was the 166th of the numbered ON series of merchant ship convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. Sixty-three ships departed Liverpool 11 February 1943 and were met the following day by Mid-Ocean Escort Force G ...

departed

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 11 February 1943 and arrived at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on 3 March. ''Empire Cavalier'' joined the convoy at sea, having departed from Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. ;HX 229

Convoy HX 229 During the Battle of the Atlantic, British merchant shipping was formed into convoys for protection against German submarine attack. In March 1943 convoys HX 229 and SC 122 were the focus of the largest convoy battle of the Second World War. ''K ...

departed New York on 8 March 1943 and arrived at Liverpool on 23 March. ''Empire Cavalier'' was carrying a cargo of

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are either petroleum-based or blends of petroleum and synthetic fuels, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground applications, such as heating and road transport, and they contain add ...

. ;HX 313 Convoy HX 313 departed New York on 10 October 1944 and arrived at Liverpool on 24 October. ''Empire Cavalier'' was bound for Thameshaven. In 1945, ''Empire Cavalier'' was sold to the British Tanker Co Ltd and renamed ''British Cavalier''. She served until 1957, and was laid up on 13 November at

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

. On 23 May 1959, she arrived at

Briton Ferry Briton Ferry () is a town and Community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, ''llan'', is protected from the wind, ''awel''. Alternatively, ''Sawel'' may be a deri ...

for scrapping.

References

External links

Old Ship Picture Galleries: ''Empire Cavalier'' 01
{{DEFAULTSORT:British Cavalier 1942 ships Ships built on the River Wear Tankers of the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport ships Empire ships World War II tankers Merchant ships of the United Kingdom